Review: Budweiser BBQ Sauce Proves The King Can Only Wear One Crown

Few combinations are as iconic as beer and barbecue. A grillside necessity, the cold, crisp taste of an ale or lager enhances the smokey flavors of juicy ribeye steaks and complements saucy baby back ribs. Besides being an excellent companion to meats, fish, and veggies, beer can also act as an ingredient, adding unique flavor to your favorite grilled recipes. One way to use beer on the grill is in beer can chicken, which infuses the meat with just a simple can of pale ale. Another way is to mix it into barbecue sauce, slathering the tangy flavor onto ribs and smoked meats.

Being such a classic pairing, you'd think that many beer brands would seize the opportunity to make a barbecue sauce, but Budweiser is one of the only brands to offer a range of grill-ready sauces. Offered through retailers like Walmart and Amazon, the beer mega-brand sells three barbecue sauces made using Budweiser beer: Sweet & Smoky, Classic Beer, and Honey. I ordered a variety pack from Walmart to give them a try and what I received was unexpected. Instead of the Honey Barbecue flavor, I received a wing sauce – and the two barbecue sauces that did arrive correctly seemed to be thinner, spicier, and more tangy than any barbecue sauce I'd ever tried. I went ahead and mixed each sauce into a serving of pulled pork to give a full review — and sadly, neither sauce hit the mark for beer or BBQ.

Because no retailers near me sell these sauces, I ordered the variety pack online from Walmart and received two barbecue sauces and a wing sauce. After customer service explained that the honey flavor was replaced by the manufacturer for wing sauce, I reviewed the other two sauces as planned, first tasting them plain on a spoon and then mixed into homemade pulled pork. 

I compared the two side by side and noted any differences in flavor, then took note of how well they worked with the meat. To write the review, I also considered the ingredients listed on the package, the value, and the availability.

These sauces are seemingly only available online and in variety packs of three sauces. The variety pack is available at Walmart and Amazon and each contain the Classic Beer and Sweet & Smoky flavors. The third bottle, which is listed on Walmart's website as Honey, is accurately displayed as Budweiser Wing Sauce on Amazon. The price at both retailers is a whopping $28.99 for the three 5.36-ounce bottles, or nearly $10 per bottle. 

There are many different types of barbecue sauce across the United States, each made with a completely unique set of ingredients that differentiates them from each other. The Budweiser barbecue sauce I received is what I'd best describe as a Carolina barbecue sauce, which is vinegar-forward and almost hot-sauce-like in viscosity. The thinness of the Budweiser sauce took me by surprise, and I needed nearly half a bottle to coat my single serving of pork — but worse was the flavor, which was completely unexpected.

If I am being generous, I'd say this barbecue sauce is a little bit sweet; but it's not smoky, and the spice is so intense that the sweetness is hardly noticeable at all. I don't mind a little spice in my barbecue sauce, but this is an overwhelming heat that makes me suspicious of this being barbecue sauce at all — in fact, the ingredient list on the bottle suggests that it might be more of a hot sauce. Weirder yet, it's missing some key components: Not only does it not include ketchup or brown sugar, but it is also missing beer. Strangely acidic with an intense heat, I'd avoid this so-called barbecue sauce at all costs.

If you've ever made your own barbecue sauce, you know that although there are dozens of customizations, the base of most barbecue sauce recipes include the same ingredients. You'll typically find some combination of tomato (sauce, paste, or ketchup), sugar (brown or molasses), and mustard, which combine to create a thick, rich sauce. Carolina sauce, which is what the Budweiser BBQ sauces best represent, uses a higher ratio of vinegar to achieve a thinner, more tangy sauce. Still, the sauce should have a rich, almost sweet flavor, which these Budweiser barbecue sauces lack.

The Classic Beer flavor is nearly identical to the Sweet & Smoky but perhaps slightly more citrusy, muting the overwhelming spice. The ingredient list again lacks any sort of tomato or beer, which may be why it tastes so heavily spicy, acidic, and sweet. Another bottle suspiciously hot-sauce-like in flavor and texture, the Classic Beer misses the mark for me, too.

I had high hopes for the Budweiser barbecue sauces. Beer and barbecue being a natural pairing, I expected a rich sauce perfumed lightly with malt and hops. Instead, I received two bottles of thin, watery, hot, and vinegary sauces that I'd hesitate to label as barbecue. Though I know recipes and packaging change over time, I am admittedly skeptical of Budweiser's involvement in the current iteration, the recipe seemingly completely different and the price much higher than what other, older reviews suggest. 

Further, the sauces lack the main ingredient, Budweiser beer, for which anyone would be seeking to purchase. With a high price tag, a bizarre taste, and a missing third flavor, I'd pass on these sauces and stick with the beer.